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Hubble Telescope is Launched
The Hubble telescope was a revolutionary telescope design at the time being the largest and most versatile space telescope launched. One of the key features of the Hubble telescope was the ability to repair the space telescope in orbit previously they had to return to earth. Over the course of five servicing missions Hubble would be upgraded and repaired. This advancement in technology has given humanity as greater understanding of the universe. -
The dissolution of the Soviet Union
Mikhail Gorbachev resigned his office as president of the Soviet Union on December 25, 1991, leaving his successor Boris Yeltsin as president of the new Russian State. Lithuania was the first state to assert full independence from the USSR in March of 1990. This started a chain reaction of other states declaring independence from the bloc. The last state to leave the union was Kazakhstan on December 16, 1991. The dissolution of the USSR would fully open these eastern bloc states to the west. -
The Waco Siege
The Waco siege revolved around a religious cult known as the Branch Davidians and their leader David Koresh. Following a tip by a UPS driver ATF attempted to arrest David Koresh. Following a gun battle with the cult the FBI surrounded the compound. The cult later set the compound on fire killing over 70 cultists. The far right took notice of the event, “for members of the far Right, Waco confirmed their worst fears about the intrusive power of the federal government” Kruse and Zelizer, 208. -
NAFTA take effect
NAFTA or the North American Free Trade Act is a trade agreement made between Canada, Mexico, and the United States. This trade agreement eliminated most trade barriers between these countries. NAFTA was passed with bipartisan support “Clinton, who embraced many of the tenets of free-market economics, insisted on sticking with the agreement. He cobbled together a bipartisan coalition to pass the legislation that would implement the terms of the treaty in August 1993.” Kruse and Zelizer, 208-209. -
Clinton Impeachment trial
Following reports of Clinton’s relations with Monica Lewinsky there was a congressional hearing where Clinton denied having “sexual relations” with Lewinsky in front of a Grand Jury. The Republicans would use this statement to suggest that he had committed perjury. The unpopular attack against Clinton was felt in the midterms “Defying the norm in which the opposition party would typically gain seats in the midterms, the GOP actually lost ground in the house.” Kruse and Zelizer, 231. -
2000 Presidential Election
The 2000 election was between Al Gore Jr. and George W. Bush. The recent Impeachment of Bill Clinton and his sexual scandals would hang over the election and become an important factor in the outcome of the election. The media played an important role in how the public would view each candidate. “Gore had a stronger command of the issues, but the political reporters who significantly shaped the narrative of the campaign disliked him internally." Kruse and Zelizer, 239 -
9/11 Terrorist Attacks
The 9/11 attacks were a series of plane hijackings that were committed by members of al-Qaeda. The hijackers took over four planes, two of which flew into the twin towers of the World Trade Center, a third into the Pentagon, and the fourth was crashed in a field by the passengers who realized it was a hijacking. Bush famously went to ground zero and made a speech to the firefighters saying "'I can hear you. The rest of the world hears you.'" Kruse and Zelizer, 252. -
Invasion of Iraq
In January 2002 President Bush warned of the “axis of evil” in his State of the Union Address, which included the nations of North Korea, Iran, and Iraq. This was the start of the administration's targeting of Iraq, in the next year the administration amped up their attacks until they declared war. At first the war went well with little difficulty, “Initially the war went quite smoothly generating nothing but good news for audiences at home” Kruse and Zelizer, 267 -
Hurricane Katrina
Hurricane Katrina was a deadly Category 5 Atlantic hurricane that caused 1,836 fatalities and damages estimated between $97.4 billion to $145.5 billion the city of New Orleans and its surrounding area were hit especially hard. The government response to the storm was lacking and left many unsatisfied. The damage done by Katrina was enormous the economic and environmental impact of the hurricane would be felt for over a decade later. -
2008 Financial Crash
The 2007–2008 financial crisis, was the largest worldwide economic crisis since the Great Depression. A combination of factors led to the crash including, predatory lending in the form of subprime mortgages, "toxic assets," excessive risk taking and the bursting of the United States Housing bubble. One major factor for the crash was the repealing of parts of the Glass-Steagall act which allowed for financial institutions to deal in both commercial and proprietary trading. -
Obama is elected President
The election of Barrack Obama marks the first time an African America had been nominated by a major political party as a presidential candidate and the first time an African American had attained the office of President. The election of 2008 also saw the largest voter turnout in four decades. The election of an African American to the office of president is extremely significant in America considering its history with racism toward Africans and its slow progress towards equality. -
Michael Jackson Dies
Michael Jackson enjoyed an extraordinary level of fame and his death was felt across the globe. Following his death there was a surge in internet traffic and sales of his music. In the Staples Center in Los Angeles there was a televised memorial service with an estimated 2.5 billion viewers. The death of the king of pop was a significant cultural event which many compared to the death of Elvis the king of rock, decades earlier. Both men would remain cultural relevant long after their deaths.